Editorial: Silence feeds into hazing

Jun. 7, 2012

Authorities say the reported hazing of Rye Middle School eighth-graders took place at the Westchester County-owned Marshlands Conservancy in Rye, a wildlife sanctuary that has trails and wooded areas. / JOURNAL NEWS FILE PHOTO

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A Journal News editorial

Seeking witnesses

Westchester County police ask anyone who may have information relating to the case to call 1-877-220-3560. Westchester police can also receive information by text and email at TIPS@WCCOPS.com. All calls will be kept confidential.

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Disturbing enough are the reported assault on Rye Middle School eighth-graders — a so-called “hazing” — and subsequent charges against three Rye High juniors that include assault and unlawful imprisonment. More shocking are reports from the community and by Westchester County officials that this has become a “ritual,” occurring year after year.

This year’s arrests came after a parent brought one of the battered and bruised eighth-graders to a local hospital for treatment. Rye police and school officials, though, have confronted the hazing problem before, apparently to no avail. In a 2010 letter to parents posted on http://myrye.com, Rye Middle School Principal Ann Edwards warns of expected “hazing” and seeks parents’ help: “If you are the parent of an eighth grade boy, we suggest you encourage your son to keep a low profile this weekend. If the unthinkable should happen and you(r) child should be on the receiving end of a hazing incident, we strongly encourage you to contact the Rye Police and help them identify the perpetrators. Together we can put an end to this dangerous tradition.”

According to reports by police and school officials, the Rye hazing incident occurred June 1 afternoon at the Village Green, where eighth-graders were forced into a car and transported to the Marshland Conservancy, which is owned by Westchester County. There, officials said, the youngsters were “paddled” or more accurately beaten raw, with a piece of wood. The boy taken to the hospital had bruising on his buttocks and legs.

Violence and silence

Hazing is a subset of bullying. While bullying aims to exclude, hazing is used as an initiation for membership into a club, school or organization. It is, in effect, organized bullying. Both are fed by silence — by victims, by witnesses — and perpetuated by secrecy. How does such a violent act get repeated year after year, in an upscale community that touts its high school as among the top 100 in the nation and salutes its middle school’s prestigious Blue Ribbon School of Excellence status?

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How can such blatant violence be couched as “tradition” and how could it be met with silence from students and parents? The cost of silence was made clear with the death of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after discovering his roommate Dharun Ravi had tweeted, texted and webstreamed his romantic encounter with another man — for all to see. Yet those who saw apparently did nothing to stop such a blatant invasion or privacy. Ravi was convicted on 15 charges, including bias intimidation. During his pre-sentencing hearing, Tyler’s mother, Jane Clementi, asked why no one in his dorm spoke up for Tyler. “How could they all go along with such meanness?” she asked.

A hazing death

The dangers of hazing and bullying have been made clear. Also recently, 13 Florida A&M students face felony charges following the death of the band’s drum major, who was severely beaten during a hazing ritual; Robert Champion died from the multiple blows he suffered. The death in November led to soul searching — including among nonparticipants and witnesses — about the band’s unsanctioned tradition of hazing. Indeed, when it comes to bullying — even group incidents couched as “tradition” — the bystander is not blameless or innocent.

Rye city Schools Superintendent Edward Shine posted a “Critical Message to Parents” on the district’s website Tuesday. He wrote: “Some have suggested that these alleged acts are part of an annual ‘tradition’ at Rye High School. Let me be clear: just because a small handful of students choose to believe that this is the case, does not make it a fact.”

Now, three high school juniors face felony charges of second-degree assault and misdemeanor counts of first-degree hazing and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. Along with the entire school community, they are learning the hard way that this dangerous and idiotic “tradition” must end.